ON JULY 18, when the district administration of Chamoli moved the statue of Gaura Devi from Raini village to a safer place in the town of Joshimath, located 25 km downhill, it had in reality removed the symbol of a historic event that helped protect the sensitive ecology of upper Himalaya until recently. The legendary Gaura Devi in 1974 led the Chipko movement launched by the women of Raini and other villages across the Garhwal Himalayas to protect its forests from loggers and its steep mountain slopes from getting washed away by rains. Today we are fighting again but to leave Raini and be relocated to a safer place, says sarpanch Bhawan Rana.
Located at an altitude of about 3,000 m, just below the Nanda Devi glaciers, Raini is nestled on both sides of a deep gorge traversed by the Rishiganga river. In 2000, the year when Uttarakhand became a separate state, the government allowed a 13-MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric project to be built on the Rishiganga, right below Raini. By 2005, construction works on the dam and deforestation in the area were in full swing. Soon, houses developed cracks as the builders started blowing up the mountain just below the village. We have been demanding relocation since then. But no one paid heed until things got worse, Rana claims.
Denne historien er fra September 01, 2021-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra September 01, 2021-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara